A Series of One Shots
by Bligy
Summary: Rewrites of the endings of RoryJess episodes of season two into more Literati friendly moments. The rating is for chapter four.
1. A Little Tip

**A/N: This is just a sorta strange idea that popped into my head. I thought it would be neat to rewrite every Rory/Jess ending into one that actually paired them together. None of these will be continued (unless people seriously pester me). For the moment, they're just one shots that would lead to Literati pairings in the near future. Expect some IC and some blatantly OOC. I'll warn people about the OOC ones. This particular chapter is IC. One the list of going to be rewritten episodes, there are:**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV

The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08

The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10

Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV

A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**A Little Tip**

**Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy, Episode 2x05**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K**

"Little tip?" Rory stated, staring at him with those eyes that seemed to humor him and tell him he never had a chance at the same time.

"Yeah?" Jess responded anyway, bringing his hands in front of him to keep from doing anything that could possibly get him smacked.

"If you ever want to speak to me again, don't pull that out of my ear," she told him seriously.

"So I assume the nose is off limits too?" he responded seriously with a nod.

"Any place you wouldn't naturally find a coin, let's leave it that way," she returned with an answering nod.

A moment of awkwardness covered them and he continued nodding, before they turned and started walking again.

"So what are you doin' now?" he asked her curiously.

"I have some homework to finish," she answered casually, falling into step beside him.

"Okay," he accepted. "Then I'll leave you this last little… trick." He reached into his back pocket and took out the copy of Howl he'd taken from her house as he'd left her room. As he handed it to her, he saw her face change into something he could almost have called pleasant shock.

"Oh, you bought a copy? I told you I'd lend you mine," she half-scolded with a smile, her first smile of the night.

"It is yours," he informed her, flipping the book a little in his hands.

"You stole my book," she stated, and stopped their walking.

"Nope, borrowed it," he shrugged off.

"Okay, that's not called a trick, that's called a felony," she chided.

"Well, I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you," he said honestly.

"What?" she asked in surprise and took the book from her hands. She read the words he'd written a few times with a frown before looking up at him. "You've read this before."

He nodded, watching the book in her hand. "About forty times," he agreed.

"I thought you said you didn't read much," she reminded him.

"Well," he drew out, shrugging back on his feet a little bit. "What is much? Goodnight, Rory."

"Goodnight, Dodger," she cracked back, and went back to reading the notes he'd written. As he was about to make his big exit, he found himself turning around to face her again, amused with the nickname.

"Dodger?" he asked.

"Figure it out," she challenged, and started to walk away. For some reason, he didn't want her to leave just yet. From the moment he'd seen her picture, he'd known that there was something special about Rory Gilmore.

"Oliver Twist," he finally called after her, once she'd completely turned away.

She walked a few more steps before turning around with a nod. He smiled at her retreating form, and then turned to walk away again. After only a few steps, he was surprised to find himself being turned around by someone.

"Hello again," he greeted, surprised that Rory stopped him, let alone with as much force as she'd used.

"Umm… do you want to go get some coffee?" she asked shyly, glancing down at the book in her hand nervously.

"What about school?" he quipped, but led her towards Luke's anyway.

"It can wait," she shrugged. He saw some of her hair fall into her face, and almost brushed it away before she did it herself. They fell into a comfortable silence on their way, giving each other glanced out of the corner of their eyes.

When they stepped inside, Luke looked up at him and was about to scold him, when he saw Rory. Jess smirked as his uncle faltered and had to catch himself on the counter. He led Rory to one of the tables away from the windows, out of the view of the counter, so that it offered some sort of privacy, as well as the added bonus of his uncle not landing on his face.

"Uh…" Luke started as he came to their table, obviously not quite sure what to make of the situation.

"Coffee?" Rory asked brightly.

"Sure… and…?" Luke agreed, and then turned to his nephew.

"I'm fine," Jess shrugged, and turned back to Rory. They started discussing the notes in the margins of his books, and he knew then and there, that there was something worth staying for in Stars Hollow.


	2. Good Band, Though

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08

The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10

Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV

A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Good Band, Though**

**Presenting Lorelai Gilmore, Episode 2x06**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

"So, back from the ball, huh?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"Yes, I left behind a glass slipper and a business card. In case the prince is really dumb," Lorelai quipped cheerfully.

Rory smiled at their fight, munching on her burger and some fries. She settled back to enjoy the next few minutes of Luke/Lorelai flirting that she'd gotten so used to, but her skirt had gotten caught in the chair. She attempted to pull it out and didn't see Jess descending the staircase.

"Good, and desperate thinking," Luke complimented her mother, the sarcastic tone sticking.

"Thank you, hmm, Luke," Lorelai muttered, looking at Jess behind their favorite diner man.

"What?" Luke asked curiously, and Rory looked up to see what her mother had seen.

Jess was wiping down the counter, wearing a pair of Luke's pants, and one of his shirts. He had on the old baseball cap that had been retired when Lorelai had bought him a new one, and appeared to be ignoring them. Rory had issues not choking on her food. She settled for watching what would be just as, if not more, amusing as the flirting.

"What do you think you're doing?" Luke questioned irritably, motioning at Jess's clothes.

"Working," Jess replied.

"So you think this is funny, huh?" Luke muttered, motioning, yet again, to the costume.

"I'm sorry, I thought this was the uniform," Jess mocked innocently.

"You know what, that's fine, have your little joke. It doesn't bother me at all. Just go over there and clean off that table, okay? I'm ignoring you. You do not exist," Luke told him, sounding more like he was attempting to convince himself than his nephew.

"Okay," Jess mumbled in response and started cleaning off said table.

Rory watched, amused, as Jess did precisely that. He started off by wiping it, but ended up moving one of the salt shakers to the opposite side of the table in an extravagant gesture. She and her mother were watching, attempting to keep their smiles in check.

"That's it, get upstairs and change!" Luke snapped after seeing the salt shaker move.

"Whatever you say, Uncle Luke," Jess sighed.

"It's Luke, just Luke. Mr. Luke, in fact, don't address me at all!" Luke shouted, following Jess as he ascended the stairs.

"You know, I'm really lucky," Lorelai commented wistfully.

"Yeah, why?" Rory asked, attempting to keep her eyes off the place that Jess had just been.

"I have someone to complain to when life sucks, or work sucks, or just… everything sucks. I have someone I can talk to," Lorelai continued, sounding quite emotional about it.

"Yeah, who?" Rory asked, grinning a little bit.

Her mother muttered something unintelligible in response, and then continued on with her former rant. "It just must be really lonely not to have that."

"You thinking about Grandma?" Rory asked offhandedly, and then looked at the stairs again.

"I'm just… thinking," Lorelai said uncomfortably, and shifted a little bit.

Rory nodded, and hesitated. She looked up at the counter. Luke had wandered into the kitchen. Frowning, Rory looked down at her plate and then at her mother.

"I'll be… I'll be right back," Rory murmured and headed towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"I think Jess took another one of my books… I wanted to read it tonight," Rory shrugged, and pushed through the curtains. It was true, Jess had stolen another of her books, but that wasn't the reason she was following him up to Luke's apartment. She felt her heart rate pick up a little bit, but she blamed it on the stairs. Knocking on the door, she attempted to get said breathing rate under control. When it opened, Jess was standing with un-gelled hair and no shirt on.

"Hey," he greeted, leaning against the doorframe.

Rory stared for a few seconds before averting her eyes with her hand and stumbling away from him. "Uh… a shirt would be good?" she suggested, looking at him between the cracks in her fingers.

"Oh, yeah, you want to come inside?" he asked, leaving the door open.

She followed after him hesitantly and watched him unabashed as he pulled on a t-shirt. It was the same Metallica shirt that he'd had on earlier that day.

"What's up?" he asked her, turning around.

"Um, did you take my copy of… uh," she couldn't even think of what book he'd taken. Smooth.

"I have a few of your books lying around," he answered with a casual shrug. "Which one did you want?"

"You have more than one?" Rory questioned, coming out of her trance a little bit.

"Yeah… I'm not sure where they are right now. I take them everywhere," he informed her and sat on the edge of the bed located in the corner. "Did you really come here for books?"

"Yes, why else would I be here?" she defended.

"No reason," he responded with a smirk.

"Just… wanted to get my books," she continued to defend.

"Right," he nodded.

"That's it," she muttered, looking around for the book that she was still attempting to remember the title of.

"You look nice," he said suddenly, breaking her out of her searching.

"Thanks," she blushed, and looked away from him.

"Some sort of party?" he continued to question.

"Debutante Ball," she answered with a shrug.

"Ah, coming out into society. Your grandparents?" he asked, leaning forward on his knees.

"Yeah," she shrugged. She didn't even notice that she'd stopped looking and was had been staring at him for a good minute, before he rose up and stepped towards her.

"So… if you didn't come here for the book-," he started.

"I did so," she stammered.

"-then why did you come?" he finished, tilting his head to the side with a smirk.

"The books…" she attempted to say, even as he closed the small space between them and grabbed one of her hands. She attempted to ignore the sparks she felt shooting up her arm.

"Uh huh, which books?" he asked as he grabbed her other hand.

She looked down as he weaved their fingers together casually. "The books?" she said again, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say.

"Mhm," he agreed, and leaned down.

She realized as his lips hit hers that this was what she'd come for. She clenched her fingers around his and he deepened the kiss. He let her hands go in favor of bringing him closer, and she reached up to lace hers behind his head.

"Rory!" her mother called from the diner, and she leapt ten feet away from him.

"Oh my God!" she whispered to herself, and looked up at Jess, who had a look of major confliction on his face.

"Rory-," he began, but she cut him off.

"Give me a book, any book," she demanded, and he handed her his personal copy of the Iliad.

Rory mumbled a 'Thanks' and ran down the stairs, missing the bottom step and slamming into the wall. She stumbled out into the diner and was met with a 'look' from both Luke and her mother.

"Got it!" she chirped, holding up the book and running out of the diner.


	3. What To Expect

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10

Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV

A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**What To Expect**

**The Ins and Outs of Inns, Episode 2x08**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

****

"It's going to take awhile, my toaster broke so I'm stuck with this dinky one," Luke called out into the diner.

Jess appeared to object and proved him wrong by pushing the 'down' button on the toaster. He'd been annoyed, and inspired, by Rory's scolding him the previous afternoon and thus, had spent a few hours fixing the toaster that his uncle had worked so hard to break.

"How'd that happen?" Luke asked, stunned and pressed down on the toaster's button again.

"You're going to break that," Jess reprimanded him.

"It was broken before," Luke said, and Jess could see the pieces being put together behind his uncle's eyes.

"Well it must have gotten better," Jess quipped and looked under the counter for some useless object.

"Inanimate objects don't usually get better," Luke cracked right back. "Did you fix this?"

"Please," Jess scoffed.

"Jess?" Luke snapped, wanting his attention.

"I have no idea what you're babbling about," Jess informed him. "I don't fix things."

"But yesterday-," Luke started.

"I got school," Jess interjected, and stood for a few seconds before turning around and heading for school. He grabbed his book and jacket as he headed towards the door, noting Rory on his way out. She nodded, almost imperceptibly at him and he gave her a half-smile in return as he opened the door and walked out.

"Hey Jess, wait a second," she called as he exited the diner, and he turned around to face her.

"Yeah?" he asked, defending himself already to the compliment he knew was coming.

"That was a really nice thing you did," she said, motioning back to the diner.

"What?" he sighed. "I didn't fix the damn toaster."

"So it was the toaster fairies?" she quipped, batting her lashes at him in innocence.

"They wanted their toast," he mocked with her.

"Jess," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Fine," he groaned, looking away from her.

"See, you're not all bad," she grinned, nudging his arm a little bit.

"Oh no, I am," he told her sincerely, and placed a hand on her arm. He yanked it back just as quickly, unsure of why he'd done it in the first place.

"I should, uh-," Rory attempted to find an excuse, realizing the hand for what it had been.

"Come on," he finally said after she couldn't string together her words. He dragged her into an alley, away from the prying eyes that were Stars Hollow and placed her against a wall. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yup," she replied, looking unsure of being in the alley with him.

"Well, that's going to make this awkward," he muttered.

"Wha-?" she started, but was cut off when he kissed her.

It was impulsive and stupid. He was expecting the hands that rushed to the lapels on his jacket to be there to push him away, yet inside all he felt was another firm tug towards her. Taking that as an invitation, he ran his fingers through her hair and pressed himself against her. After a few seconds, they pulled away and stared at each other.

"Umm," she attempted, but couldn't think of anything to say after it.

"Shh," he whispered and kissed her again.

At first she seemed to want to push him away, and he complied. He pulled back, but she followed him. He smirked against her as her lips chased him and her hands yanked him against her. On their own violation, his hands travelled down her to waist and he had to will them not to go any further.

This had been a long time in coming. Despite having only known her for a few weeks, he could tell that he was enthralled, and he was damn sure that she was just as enthralled as he was. To compensate for his hands inability to travel any lower… or higher, one of his legs crept in between hers. He couldn't restrain it, she was driving him crazy.

"Jess," she mumbled against his lips.

"Hmm?" he returned, neither of them breaking the kiss.

"What are we doing?" she asked breathlessly between kisses.

"Shh," he hushed her again and his hands fell to her hips.

Her hands, which had been playing with his hair, fell onto his shoulder's, and then seemed to hesitate. They fluttered lower until they crept beneath his jacket and against his shirt. It was a flimsy barrier, and the heat that was generated between them made him long for her even more. When her hands lifted his shirt and travelled beneath, he broke away from the kiss.

"Be careful," he whispered, even though he didn't want to. Her hands leapt out from beneath his shirt like they were burnt.

"I'm sorry," she gasped in shock, and one of her hands leapt to her mouth, as if attempting to find the kisses that had been there moments before.

"Don't be sorry," he shook his head and had to restrain himself from kissing her again.

"Jess-," she began, but was abruptly cut off by Dean walking into the alley.

For the sake of her chastity, Jess stepped away and faced the other boy angrily. He'd just ruined a very perfect moment. Jess yanked out a cigarette and searched for his lighter.

"Rory…?" Dean asked, looking between his girlfriend and the town bad boy.

"Dean… I, we, uh," Rory searched, trying to find a good excuse.

"What were you doing?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing, we were talking. Can't you see talking when you're looking at it? This interaction that we're having now, that's called talking too," Jess snapped, finally finding his lighter.

"Why were you touching her?" Dean growled, stepping into Jess's personal bubble.

"She had something in her hair," Jess grumbled, glaring and throwing the cigarette to the ground. "Don't you trust your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I just don't trust you," Dean snapped and shoved him back. Jess knew it was coming, and he had to bite back the block that he would have used. Instead, he allowed the push, just so that he'd have an excuse to hit him back. When his fist flew at Dean's face, the taller boy hadn't been expecting it, and the hit landed solidly.

"Ooh, that'll sting tomorrow," Jess cracked angrily and stepped away.

"Jess!" Rory shouted angrily and rushed over to Dean. She waited to make sure that he was okay before pushing her boyfriend for being a dumbass, or at least that's what he thought the push was for. "Why did you do that?"

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean snarled, and attempted to regain his balance.

"There's that sight issue again," Jess grumbled, which earned him a look from Rory. He smirked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

"Nothing, we were just talking," Rory repeated Jess's defense, lying through her teeth. She was cute when she lied. He saw all the signs instantly, but he wondered if Dean had watched his girlfriend as much as the bad boy had.

"Just talking?" Dean repeated, and Jess scoffed again.

"Don't say anything," Rory warned him, but there seemed to be a small smile peaking out on the corner of her vision. He returned it in full.

"Nothing," Dean said, watching them.

"Dean," Rory started, but he shook his head.

"Nothing," he said once more, and then turned and marched out of the alley.

"You're such a jerk!" Rory shouted at Jess after watching Dean leave.

"Huh," Jess replied and stepped closer to her again. He watched her as she breathed and knew that she was thinking about what had happened before.

"Stay away from me," she warned, but there was absolutely no conviction in it.

"Or what?" he asked, placing one of his hands on the side of her face and running it through her hair gently.

"Jess," she warned again, but didn't stop him. One of her hands grasped onto the elbow of the hand in her hair lightly. She leant into his touch, barely.

"Tell me what you want," he told her, letting his hand drop and hers with it.

"I-I… I don't know," she said after a few minutes of pondering.

"Well, when you find out, tell me. I have to go to school," he snapped bitterly and pushed past her.

"Jess!" she called again and he turned around, irritated with the games.

He was about to scold her again for her indecisiveness when she launched herself out of the alley and into his arms, kissing him in the middle of broad daylight, outside of Luke's. He was too stunned to respond for a second, but sooner rather than later, he was kissing her back. After a good two minutes of kissing, they broke apart and Rory blushed furiously.

"I'm going to miss my bus," she informed him self-consciously and pointed at the arriving bus.

"Can't have that," he returned, as stunned as Luke was about his toaster.

"I'll see you later," she said quietly and dashed off to catch the bus. He could only watch her with wide eyes. That had not been expected.


	4. Boyfriend, What Boyfriend?

**A/N: Here's your pretty warning. This chapter is proudly OOC and mature. It will probably also be the longest chapter in the series. I don't intend to have many more this length.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV

A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Boyfriend, What Boyfriend?**

**The Bracebridge Diner, Episode 2x10**

**OOC Chapter**

**Rated M**

"So I guess we're off," Dean said, a little embarrassed by his sister's antics.

"I guess so," Rory agreed and spun to watch him leave. As she spun, she was caught off guard by the one person she hadn't really expected to see, Jess. He smirked at her and she had a difficult time not smiling back. They were still sharing that moment when he gave an almost imperceptible nod towards the hallway that led back to the rooms. At first she frowned, wondering what he meant by it. Her mind was conflicted. She'd just said goodbye to her boyfriend, was it really acceptable to be going off with Jess less than thirty seconds later?

She watched, distracted, as he excused himself to go the washroom and walked down the hallway. She looked down at her feet and then looked over at Dean, who was watching her. This set her even more off balance. She laced her fingers together nervously and followed Jess down the hallway that he'd gone down.

After a few steps, she hesitated. What the hell was she doing? She was following Jess, the town bad boy, into an empty hallway with her boyfriend, mother, and half the town in the lobby.

"Jess?" she whispered, looking for him. A hand darted out of a room and grabbed her.

"Hey," he greeted when he pulled her into one of the recently vacated rooms.

"What are you doing?" Rory demanded, brushing his hand off her and stumbling back into the room. She looked around, attempting to figure out which room it was. She'd never been in it before, but she was damn sure that this was the honeymoon suite.

"Do you like me?" he asked abruptly.

"What?" she hissed, stopping her wandering eyes to look at him in shock.

"Do you like me? It's a simple enough question. If you really want, I could define the words for you," he quipped and stepped towards her.

"I have a boyfriend," she reminded him, but she was visibly flustered.

"That wasn't a denial," he chided and took another step towards her. She crept back, feeling behind her for anything that she was going to run in to.

"I-I… Dean's right down the hall!" she reminded him, avoiding the question again.

"Uh huh," he brushed off and reached out hand for her. She leapt out of his reached, right into a wall behind her.

"Ow," she whined, feeling the back of her head.

"I like you," he admitted as he closed the distance between them to a bare inch.

"Really?" she asked, his words not really making it to her brain. What was it about last night? He'd gotten to her, and she hated herself for every moment that she was enjoying him doing this.

"Mhm," he whispered and ran a hand gently along her sleeve.

"Stop that!" she scolded, attempting to take some sort of control over the situation again.

"Why?" he asked her, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Someone could walk in here at any minute, and I don't want to be caught… with you, in here, alone," she stammered. As if the comment refreshed his memory, he stepped back to the door and locked it, then closed the chain. His mere motions sped her breathing.

"Problem solved," he informed her and turned back to face her. "Now… about that question."

"Jess," she attempted to scold, but her voice was breathy and she could barely recognize it as her own.

"Answer the question, Rory," he chided, closing their distance again.

"I-I…" she began, but she couldn't think of how to end this without one of, or both of, them being hurt. Did she like him? Yes, she liked him. She'd liked him since that moment when she'd called him Dodger, or even when he'd suggested bailing. True, she hadn't really recognized the feelings then, but they'd been there. It wasn't until the moment in the diner after he'd fixed the toaster that she'd really allowed herself to feel them, though. The half-smile he'd given her had been enough to melt her in her seat. She'd hated herself in that moment too.

"Yes?" he prodded, wanting her to continue on with her statement.

"Well, what if I did?" she asked him stubbornly, stepping away from the wall so that he couldn't back her into it again.

"Then I'd say that we have some issues to work through," he smirked, following her.

"Like what issues?" she asked him, still reaching out behind her to make sure that she didn't ram straight into anything.

"Such as Dean," he pointed out, and she realized that she'd forgotten all about him.

"Yes! Dean, Dean wouldn't want me in here," she informed him, but she knew that it was a weak argument.

"Nope," Jess smirked and closed the distance once more. She attempted to step back, but her hands collided with something and she fell back onto the bed.

"Oh, hey, wow," she remarked as he leant over her, smirking. "Jess, this can't happen."

"Why not?" he asked her curiously. He traced a hand along her face, lighting sparks along her skin.

"Because I have a boyfriend, and… and…" she searched for more reasons, but they weren't really forthcoming.

"That can be solved," he shrugged off casually and leant down towards her. She knew what was happening before his lips touched hers, and she tried to resist it, she really did. What was it about this damn hotel that made him irresistible?

"Jess," she attempted to scold around the kiss, but it sounded more like encouragement.

"Mhm?" he asked her, one of his hands gently probing beneath her shirt.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Her entire body tensed as his fingertips pressed beneath the fabric and against her bare skin. Her eyes fluttered shut and she couldn't think of anything other than him, standing right there and what he was doing to her.

"Shh," he scolded. "You're ruining a perfectly good moment with talking."

"But-," she attempted to object, but he kissed her and she lost all attempts at words.

The hands that had been bracing her on the bed were now latched around his back, pulling him towards her. He moved between her legs and she tensed again. What was he doing now? Her eyes opened and stared directly into his. In his eyes, she saw precisely what he thought was going to happen. There was a slight question to his expression. He may have cornered her, but he wasn't going to go so far as to force her to do something that she didn't want to do. Even with their mouths being firmly latched together, their tongues fighting for control, she could tell that he was holding back.

"Jess…" she trailed off, interrupted by another kiss. One of her hands laced its way into his hair. "Jess… what are you doing?" The hand that had crept beneath her shirt was now shoving it up her body, as though he was attempting to take it off.

"Nothing," he replied with a smirk, but he did stop attempting to take it off. She pulled away from him, eyes questioning.

"What are you doing?" she asked again, no longer referring to just the shirt.

"What I've wanted to do for a very long time," he told her and his hand beneath her shirt travelled along her back and unclasped her bra.

"Jess!" she squeaked, and squirmed out of his grasp. She ran to the opposite side of the room again, not sure why she didn't just leave. When she was sure that she wasn't going to turn into a blubbering mass of Rory-goo, she turned around to face him. He was still bent over the bed, but she could tell that he was tense. His body was strung very tight, and she couldn't help but examine it. When he finally turned around to face her, she couldn't think of anything to say; so much for not turning into Rory-goo.

As he turned, he lifted himself up to sit on the bed. He looked annoyed, and she had to turn away from his glance to keep that annoyed look from influencing her.

"I have a boyfriend," she whispered again.

"Yeah, so?" he brushed off, waving one of his hands as though shooing the thought away.

"So… I can't do this!" Rory reminded him, motioning at the room, and the bed.

"Why not?" he demanded, but she had issues reminding herself 'why not' as well.

"Because I… I love him," she replied, but even as she said the words, she knew they weren't true. She didn't love Dean anymore.

"Really?" Jess snapped, and he got off the bed. He walked over to her, grabbed her shoulders and kissed her soundly. Claiming temporary insanity, she returned the firm grasp on his back and kissed him back. He pulled away a few seconds later, returning to his post on the bed with a smug look on his face. "Love is strange, or so they say."

"Jess…" she started again, but couldn't think of anything good to say. So, in another moment of temporary insanity, she rushed him and kissed him soundly, knocking him back onto the bed. Her body moved on its own, crawling on top of him. He seemed too shocked to respond for a second, but soon his hands were on her back, under her shirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked after a few seconds, staring at her in awe.

"That's my line," she whispered against his lips, and he took that as an invitation.

Before she really had any idea of what was going on, her shirt had been ripped over her head and she was left in her bra, which was hanging limply off her body thanks to his former efforts. A few seconds later, while she was still sitting in shock, the bra was removed too.

"Oh my God!" she shouted and leapt away from him. She was on the opposite side of the room once more, arms wrapped around her chest self-consciously. A good internal pep-talk later, she turned around to face him. He was still lying on the bed, his arms splayed out to the side, looking frustrated. "Jess."

"Mhm?" he asked, irritated.

"What are we doing?" she asked, and he looked up at her from the bed like she was crazy.

"Nice to see you're claiming your line back," he muttered, then lied himself back down again.

"That's not an answer," she grumbled, moving close to him.

"You caught that, huh?" he returned, still not looking at her.

"Jess… this can't happen," she reminded him, taking another step closer.

"Why the hell not?" he finally snapped, sitting up in the bed and looking at her in annoyance. "If you really didn't want this to happen, at all, you would have been out that door ages ago."

"Well that's because some stupid part of me is attracted to you… and it's being stupid and I don't know how to get it to stop being stupid," she rambled. He gave her a look that shut her up and she found herself taking that last step to the bed that pressed them together. She was standing between his legs, arms wrapped around her chest, shielding her body from his view.

"But does that crazy little part of your brain speak to the rest of your body?" he asked her playfully, and gently ran his hands along her arms. His touches made her hairs stand on end and her body tighten up.

"Maybe," she attempted to respond, but her voice had returned to that breathless whisper that she didn't recognize.

"Hmm," he mumbled and gently pulled her arms away from her chest.

She knew what was happening, she saw it coming, and yet she still didn't know if she should do it. As his hands tugged, she gave way, letting her arms move apart. She looked away as it was happening, though, not sure if she wanted to see what he was thinking.

"Perfect," he muttered, and kissed her gently, before moving down and kissing her neck, and then further and kissing her breast.

"Jess," she whispered, and this time she didn't even attempt to make it sound like scolding.

He stood up, kissing her mouth again and turned them around. He lifted her onto the bed and crawled onto it with her. One of her hands latched into his hair and she heard herself moan. Wow, this was not what she'd expected when she'd agreed to this whole 'Bracebridge Dinner' thing.

Somehow her hands managed to find their way down his body and she tugged his shirt out from his pants. They parted mouths for a second so that they could tug it over his head and then resumed kissing furiously. They used their lips, their tongues and their teeth to get as much out of the moment as they could, while their hands fought to work the rest of their clothes off.

His belt was the first to go, but hers wasn't far behind. On his pants, she hovered, unsure of what to do about it. After she realized that he was already on her zipper, she stubbornly undid his buttons and then started on his zipper as well. At first she'd expected to feel material beneath his pants, but was surprised when it was only skin.

"Jess?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself again.

"If you ask 'What are we doing?' one more time, I swear I'll go insane," he told her between kisses, and she couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Okay," she whispered, and shoved his pants down his legs. He helped her and had hers off seconds later. That meant that there was only one thing separating them. They broke apart to watch each other as that last article of clothing was pushed down her legs. His brown eyes were intoxicating. They captured her, allowed her to see everything he was feeling at that moment. As he said about her a few moments ago, he was perfect. The thought stunned her a little bit. She barely realized that her panties had been slipped off her ankles.

"Are you ready?" he asked her with a kiss, positioning himself.

"I-I guess," she stammered, realizing what they were about to do.

"Don't doubt yourself," he chided and kissed her good and properly. She felt his fingers starting to play with her and she gasped, not having been sure of what to expect. These shocks of pleasure were nothing like anything she'd ever felt before in her life, and she felt her hips rise to meet his fingers unconsciously. When one of his fingers teased inside her, she had to keep kissing him to keep from crying out loud.

"I'm ready," she finally told him, when she was positive that his fingers were going to drive her crazy. Suddenly she could understand why her mother enjoyed this stuff so much.

"Okay," he whispered, and she felt something other than his fingers pressed against her. He kissed her soundly and rammed into her. Like with his fingers, she hadn't known what to expect, but the sudden, sharp pain was definitely not on the list. Her fingernails dug into his arms, cringing and whimpering.

"It's alright, it's okay. It'll go away soon," he cooed to her, running his hands through her hair, dare she say it, lovingly?

She nodded to him, feeling the pain slowly fade away. It was replaced by something a lot better, something that only increased when he started moving. Her fingers dug deeper into his skin to keep her grounded. Her body wanted to lash and return his every movement, but she had no idea what to do in this situation.

"Let go," he supported her, and she nodded numbly.

Her hips started moving with his, causing even more friction and making her body want to do even more crazy things. To keep it from doing said crazy things, she grabbed the back of his head and yanked him down so that she could kiss him. The kiss was passionate and explosive, much like what their bodies were currently doing. Her hands moved down to his arms again, running her fingers along the little dents that she found.

Her hands moved from his arms to his head again, pulling him down to her again and deepening the kiss. It didn't take very long before she started feeling the deep rushes of something in her stomach. She pulled back from the kiss to gasp for air as it grew larger. Biting down on her lip, she cried out and felt her muscles tensing around him.

"Oh God," he whispered against her skin and she felt him let go as well. It was the strangest sensation she'd ever felt, and she most definitely wanted it to happen again.

"Wow," she whispered after a few minutes. Her heart was still pounding frantically, attempting to keep up with her antics, and her mind was further behind yet.

"Yeah," he agreed, and they shared a moment of laughter. The laughter caused their nether regions to stir and she squirmed a bit. He pulled out of her and she felt an incredible sense of loss.

"Where are you going?" she pouted when she noted that he was yanking his pants on.

"Don't start on that now," he scolded playfully and grabbed her clothes, tossing them to her. "We've probably been gone half an hour."

"Oh my God," she squeaked and yanked her clothes on. After a few seconds, she realized that she'd put her shirt on backwards and had to work very, very hard to figure out which way it was supposed to go. Tears were streaming down her face as she was attempting to turn it around.

"Stupid shirt," she cried. His hands pulled her to him and fixed it for her.

"Calm down," he told her gently, running a hand through her hair again. She leant into it and felt her eyes close. More tears rolled down her face and she turned away.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she sobbed, and turned away from him.

"Yes it was," he murmured, moving behind her and pulling her body flush against his. She was shocked when she realized that it didn't feel wrong or bad. It felt right… perfect.

His hands wrapped around her and she felt hers cover his. She knew that this moment would be engraved in her memory for the rest of her life, and she was content with that. After a few minutes, she heard him sigh.

"You should be getting back to your boyfriend," he grumbled.

"Boyfriend… what boyfriend?" she smiled, turning to look at him. He returned the smile with a smirk and they kissed softly.


	5. This Is Disgusting!

**A/N: This chapter has been my unquestionable favorite to write. Although that's not a necessary thing to say, I wanted to make it known... bwahaha, fluff!**

****

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**This Is Disgusting!**

**Richard in Stars Hollow, Episode 2x12**

**OOC Chapterish**

**Rated K+ (You'll need to be at least eleven to understand this one)**

"Jess," Rory demanded as he walked away from her. She knew the types of things that Jess had a tendency to do, and if he was attempting to 'help' her, than that was probably a bad thing.

"Enjoy the food!" he called back to her, but didn't stop walking or turn around.

"Come back here!" she demanded, debating whether or not to follow him.

"Why?" he asked, and she saw him turn around a bit to face her.

"I'll give you an egg roll!" she pleaded, chasing after him. During her plea, he turned around fully to face her, and seemed to calculate the ramifications behind coming back to see her, finally he started towards her again.

"Yes?" he drawled.

"What did you do?" she asked him suspiciously, as he glanced at the picture and then back at her.

"Nothing much," he shrugged, looking at the picture again before his eyes flickered back to her. "Just wanted to make sure that whoever Dumbo or Bambi gets a little surprise."

"What kind of a surprise?" she asked him, stunned. She already had her suspicions, but she was desperately hoping that she was wrong. Instead of answering her, he raised his eyebrows playfully and started away. "What did you do?"

"You owe me an egg roll!" he called back to her, pointing over his shoulder. She smiled at him and looked at the picture, and then chased after him again.

"Jess, wait! Come back to my house, you can have dinner with us," she invited, and he stopped in the middle of the busiest street in Stars Hollow. That didn't say much, but there were still the occasional car that had to avoid him.

"What?" he asked, frowning at her like she was crazy.

"Come back to my house. I don't want to have to feel indebted," she said again, shuffling the bags around in her hand.

"You sure?" he asked, and then motioned over his shoulder. "Because there's a whole lot of nothing that I should really be doing."

"Please?" she asked, feeling her smile widen.

"Okay," he shrugged, and he walked towards her for the third time that night.

"What a person won't do for an egg roll," Rory teased and fell into step beside him. He gave her that smirk again and she couldn't help but return it. The silence between them was comfortable as they walked back to her house.

"Is your mom going to be okay with this?" he asked suddenly, breaking their quiet bubble as they rounded on her house.

"Sure, why wouldn't she be?" she returned, frowning at him.

"No reason," he mumbled, but continued walking with her as they stepped onto the porch.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" Rory called out as they stepped through her front door. She frowned as she looked around, not seeing her grandfather. In her Jess-distraction, she'd also missed the fact that the Jaguar wasn't out front.

"Hey," Lorelai called, she sounded upset. Rory cringed, but gave a supportive smile back to Jess, who gave her a confused smirk in return.

"Where's grandpa?" Rory called, and she felt more than saw Jess freeze.

"Grandpa? That's wasn't apart of the brochure," he muttered, and she glared at him.

"He went home," Lorelai stated as she walked towards them, and then did a double take when she saw Jess. "Uh…?"

"I saw him on the way home, he said he was hungry," Rory rambled a little bit.

"She owes me an egg roll," Jess shrugged.

"That too!" Rory chirped, and pushed past her mother into the kitchen.

"Right," Lorelai responded, and Rory observed the looks shared between her mother and their guest.

"Into the kitchen!" Rory shouted from her perch at the table, taking out food and placing it on the table.

Her mother walked swiftly into the room, helping her unload, while Jess sauntered in a few seconds later.

"Nice house," he attempted to break the silence.

"Thanks," Lorelai responded, but it was obvious that the words were as fake as the smiles they were showing each other.

"Shall we eat?" Rory asked, not realizing how awkward this was going to be. In her excitement of his help, she'd forgotten that her mother hated him.

"Sure," Jess mumbled, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the back of the chair he sat down on. The first object that he collected was an egg roll. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

"So… why do you owe him an egg roll?" Lorelai inquired of Rory, heaping massive amounts of each dish onto her plate.

"No reason," Jess murmured from his place across the table. Lorelai looked at Rory expectantly.

"He's helping with the situation at the movie store," Rory explained.

"How could he be doing that?" Lorelai asked with a frown.

"He won't tell me," Rory grumbled, giving a playful glare in Jess's direction.

Said playful glare was returned and Rory felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. She instantly looked down to her food, shoveling it into her mouth quickly.

"I can honestly say I've never been at a table where the women eat more than me," Jess remarked after diner was finished. It was the longest thing he'd said all night, but he had been slowly opening up. Her mother even seemed to be mildly enjoying his presence.

"It's a Gilmore thing," Rory said with a firm nod.

"Years of honing," Lorelai confirmed, and the two women shared a look.

"Yup," Rory said awkwardly after a few seconds. "So… movie?"

"What did you get?" Lorelai inquired.

"Well, it was either Dumbo or Bambi," Rory mumbled, shifting through her bags.

"Wait… you rented one of those videos?" Jess asked, sitting up straighter.

"Yup," Rory chirped, and walked into the living room.

"Which one?" he asked, standing up and chasing after her. Rory looked back at her mother and the two of them shared and evil grin.

"Dumbo, of course," Rory replied innocently, and placed the video into the VCR. "Is there something wrong?"

"Uh…" he said, the monosyllabic nature that was him being cut short with a lack of things to say. It was the first time she'd ever managed to get him to the point where he was speechless.

"So, Jess… anything you want to tell us?" Lorelai asked when they were about ten minutes into the movie, which was definitely not Dumbo… let alone miles near any child's movie.

"Nope," Jess said enthusiastically, enjoying himself on the couch. Rory and her mother gave him looks that were a mixture of disgust and fascination, and then proceeded to throw popcorn at him.

"This is disgusting!" Rory remarked, letting another kernel fly.

"Hey!" Jess objected, throwing some of his popcorn at them. "You didn't want to be a poster girl, did you?"

"No, but… ew!" Rory's lip curled back at what was happening on screen. "I didn't know that was humanly possible."

"Okay, stopping this now," Lorelai muttered, putting a hand over her daughter's eyes and searching for the remote. Rory shoved her mother's hand off and continued staring at the screen.

"That's disgusting!" she said again, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen.

"It's like a train wreck," Jess chimed in.

Lorelai ended up stumbling over herself in an attempt to get to the remote and poured Jess's entire bowl of popcorn on her head on her way to the ground.

"Hey!" Jess objected.

"Stupid remote!" Lorelai cursed as she found the thing hiding beneath the couch curtains.

"Oh my God, the train wreck just got worse!" Rory exclaimed, eyes glued to the television.

"How is that poss-," Lorelai began, took one look at the television, and found herself too drawn into the horror. "Where did you find this?"

"New York," Jess shrugged, watching the women watching the movie. After another few minutes and another chorus of: "That's disgusting. "Where did you find this, again?" and "Ew!" s, he finally grabbed the remote from Lorelai and turned it off.

"Wow," Lorelai cringed, crawling back on the couch.

"That was worth being banned from the store," Jess said smugly, and ate a popcorn kernel from Rory's bowl.

He was about to eat it when the two women in the room turned to face him, identical looks of disgust on their face. Rory watched a look pass over his face, before he launched himself off the couch. Lorelai managed to grab a hold of his pants while Rory tackled him to the ground. They picked up the popcorn bowl and smashed it over his head.

"I deserved that," Jess laughed, lying flat on the ground with Rory sitting on his stomach and Lorelai's foot jammed into his chest, like she was claiming him for something.

"Yup," Rory agreed, leaning forward and grinning at him. He returned the smile from his place on the ground, looking up at her beyond her mother's leg.


	6. Attempt To Guess

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Attempt To Guess**

**A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Episode 2x13**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

Sure… it was stalkerish of him. He was sitting on Rory Gilmore's windowsill, watching her as she slowly walked inside her own room with the phone. For some strange reason, he watched what numbers she pressed into the phone, and was surprised when he saw that they were the numbers to the apartment above the diner. He watched as she listened to ringing for a few seconds, and then clicked the 'end' button in frustration and lied back in her bed.

He smirked and tapped on her window. "Rory!" he called.

"Jess?" she half-screamed, jumping and falling off the bed ungracefully.

He couldn't help but laugh at her and he leaned against the window casually, waiting for her. Her head popped out from behind the bed a few seconds later, a rather large scarlet stain across her cheeks. He smirked at her playfully and tapped on the window again.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Fine," she grumbled and crawled over to the window. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping that you'd be able to explain what this crazy woman is talking about," he informed her, tossing the Fountainhead through the window when she opened it. He felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach when she smiled at him and took the book.

"Ah," she mumbled, and opened it. "You've already started writing in it? Oh… wow."

"Yeah… I didn't like that part much," he remarked as he saw her eyes widen as she read his writing.

"I guessed," she nodded, eyebrows raised and eyes still glued to the page.

"It's your fault," he reminded her, standing in full view of the window again. She gave him a begrudging smile and looked down at the book again, closing it gently.

"I promise, commit to it one more time, and if it still sucks, I'll make it up to you," she told him, letting the book slip through the window's opening.

"I'm going to hold you to that," he said seriously, and their eyes caught for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, breaking the moment.

"I wanted to see you," he shrugged.

"But you just saw me," she pointed out. She'd been in the diner more than once that day, and they'd seen each other both times.

"Then I wanted to talk to you," he built on, keeping his true feelings masked.

"But we talked today too," she continued, leaning against the window. They didn't say anything for a few seconds, their stares doing all the talking that he might have needed to say.

"Come out here," he requested, nodding his head towards the outside world.

"What?" she asked, looking around as if to make sure that no one was listening. "I'm not going out with you, Jess."

"I'm not asking you to 'go out' with me… just, come out here," he said again, smirking at the blush he saw on her cheeks.

"I'm not crawling through a window," she protested again.

"Front doors work too," he countered. She frowned at him for a second before sighing.

"I'll be out in a minute," she responded and he nodded, backing away from the window and following her sounds as she moved through the house.

True to her word, a minute later, she was standing on the front porch, in her jacket and shoes. "You planning on going anywhere?" he asked, motioning to the shoes.

"I never know with you," she grumbled good-naturedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked her with a frown.

"Oh… I don't know. First you steal one of my books to write notes in it, then you actually do something nice for Luke, then there was the time that you helped me out with the movie thing, and more recently, you outbid Dean for my basket. You're so… random, I never know what to expect," she clarified with a shrug and a suspicious glance.

"So… what do you think I'm up to now?" he asked, smirking at all the things that she mentioned. It was funny that he'd already had such strong feelings for her when he'd done all those things. At first it was just mild interest, with the book, then the toaster thing he actually did to impress her. He'd never done anything like that before in his life. Even the thought of it made him shuffle uncomfortably.

"I don't know you well enough to even attempt to guess," Rory told him, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"Huh," Jess muttered, looking around in an attempt to look somewhere where she wasn't. "Your rain gutters are gross."

"See, there's that random thing," Rory mumbled, motioning at him.

"Do you like it?" he asked her, tilting his head and staring at her. At first she seemed flustered with his question, as though it wasn't as simple as what he was asking.

"Like what?" she deflected, but he was a bit more focused than that.

"Do you like the unexpected?" he asked her curiously. It was a simple question with so many strings attached. He watched as she squirmed beneath his gaze and he couldn't help but let his eyes wander a little bit.

"I-I don't know. I mean, there's not a lot of it around here," she attempted to brush off again, but he shushed her up by brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes were wide, much like they had been when she'd read his words in the book.

"Answer the question, Rory," he scolded, but his voice was immensely serious.

"I guess," she finally shrugged, and tore her eyes from his to look down at the ground. He used his hand to lightly touch her chin and bring her eyes back to his.

Their eyes locked for a minute, and they both felt the tension between them. Slowly, they seemed to be drawn to each other, until their lips touched and they kissed softly. He hadn't expected this tonight, hell; he hadn't expected it for a long, long time. He'd been trying his ass off for this moment for months.

"Rory!" Lorelai shouted from upstairs, and they leapt apart.

"Go!" Rory whispered, pushing him away.

"I'll call you," he promised and stumbled down the stairs. Dashing into a bush, he watched the interaction between mother and daughter as Rory attempted to explain why she was standing on the porch, alone. He smirked and looked down at the ground before looking up again to see Rory's eyes staring into the night, looking for him. He backed away and slowly made his way back to town, feeling better about himself than he had in a very long time.


	7. Sure It Was

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Sure It Was**

**Lost and Found, Episode 2x15**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K**

Rory was startled by a smashing sound from above the diner. She ducked as she heard something smash on the ceiling directly above her head. Her hand leapt out and caught her mothers and she ducked.

"Mommy?" she asked, looking up at the ceiling like it was going to collapse on her.

"I'll go ask Luke," Lorelai replied, also ducking in an attempt to avoid the not-so-falling ceiling.

Not wanting to have the ceiling collapse on her, she decided to go see what was going on at the source. She made sure that her mother was yelling at Luke in the kitchen before she crept up the stairs and into the apartment, where Jess was standing with a sledge hammer in his hand. She blinked at him and stepped into the room.

"Pranks just where enough, huh?" she teased, looking at the wall nervously.

"What?" Jess scoffed, and then looked at the wall and back to her. "Oh… I didn't do this."

Instead of replying, she just looked at him. He was holding a sledge hammer, standing directly in front of the hole.

"I didn't," he denied again, seeing her incredulous look.

"Okay," she replied, dragging out the word.

"Luke just came up here and smashed a hole in the wall," he shrugged off. "Apparently that's my room."

"You're going to have a room?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

"So I'm told," he muttered, throwing the sledge hammer away from him and picking up his book again.

"Shouldn't you at least take the things off of the wall before breaking down the wall?" Rory hinted as she stepped towards him again.

"I told you, I didn't break down the fucking wall," he snapped, and she jumped back a little bit, not expecting the anger.

"Sorry," she mumbled, then stepped back again. "I guess… I guess I'll just go."

"No, Rory, wait. I'm sorry, it's just… I've had a bad day," he told her, chasing after her.

"Yeah, because cleaning gutters is so stressful," she bit at him, and cringed when she saw the momentary hurt in his eyes.

"Y'know what? Nevermind. Go, goodbye, I'll see you whenever," he snapped and went back into the apartment.

"Jess-," she started, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Yeah?" he asked irritably, sitting on his bed and reading the book he'd picked up.

"Did you ever finish The Fountainhead?" she asked, attempting to get him to talk again without actually addressing their former freak outs.

"It still sucked," he said with a shrug, and then smirked and looked up at her. "You did say that you'd make it up to me if it still sucked…"

"What do you want?" she asked, smiling at this and biting her lip a little bit.

"Huh, I don't know," he told her, his eyes wide and mocking.

"Then I guess that you don't want anything," she mocked in return and turned to leave.

"Wait!" he called and she turned around to see him getting up off the bed. "There is something I want."

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"I have tickets to something this weekend. Come with me?" he asked, and she could have sworn that he looked nervous.

"I have a boyfriend," she reminded him, waving her wrist, bracelet clad as it was, in front of his face. He looked away, as if pained, and she frowned at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, still not looking at her.

"I was just joking… sure I'll go with you," she shrugged, attempting to step into his line of vision.

"You will?" he asked her skeptically.

"Sure," she chirped again.

"And Dean will…?" Jess trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the blankets.

"I don't know," Rory replied, frowning in realization that she didn't even think about Dean.

"Okay, meet me here, Saturday at five, we'll catch the bus into Hartford," he told her casually and they shifted for a few seconds, neither really knowing what to do.

"Okay," she finally said, and they shuffled some more. "I guess I'm gonna…"

"Yeah, sure," he said as she trailed off, and their eyes met for a moment. She blushed and backed out of the apartment.

"Bye," she finished their conversation with a shy wave and ran down the stairs.


	8. Dreaded Jess Bear

**A/N: I blame the sickly sweetness of this chapter on some fluff that I was reading earlier. I also blame... well... everything on said thing I was reading earlier. I have no idea where the bear thing came from.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

_There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV_

Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Dreaded Jess-Bear**

**There's the Rub, Episode 2x16**

**OOC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

"I have to get back to work," he told her, but he could see her reading right through his lies.

"You're squirming. I've never seen you squirm. It's entertaining," she informed him, and he had to physically will himself not to smile at her. It would ruin the moment.

"Oh yeah," he said instead, fighting off the smile with all his will.

"Yeah," she replied, and he lost the battle. As he nodded, he felt his face split into a smile.

"And to think, people think that you're so bad," Rory taunted, and he leaned onto the counter to talk to her.

"What, and you think I'm not?" he asked her curiously.

"Nope, you're just a big ol' softy," she continued, leaning on the counter opposite him.

"Softy?" he scoffed.

"Yup, in fact, I'll bet you have a teddy bear," she pressed, and he felt the smile on his face blossom even further.

"A teddy bear?" he chuckled, and watched as her hands crept towards his on the counter.

"Mhm, what's its name?" she asked, tilting her head in a manner that he found unbearably cute.

"It doesn't have one," he replied, going along with it.

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because I haven't found someone to name it after yet," he informed her, his eyebrows rising in a challenge.

"Aww, no deep secret crush?" she prodded, and their eyes met. He watched the blush creep along her neck and onto her face.

"Maybe," he said quietly, and she blushed even further.

"W-well, I just wanted to say thank you for the food and tell you that you were really nice to Paris yesterday, she can be a little bit difficult to deal with. Anyway, I guess I should go," she rambled, and the smile crept back onto his face.

"Are you doing anything today?" he asked her.

"Why?" she asked defensively.

"I thought that you might want to go out for a walk with me and my teddy," he teased.

"Sure, that would be fun," she replied, and then the bell on the diner rang, and Lorelai stepped in with Dean. Rory jumped away from the counter like it burnt her, and Jess stepped back with a frown. "I'm sorry, actually, I'm busy today."

"Oh, yeah, that's okay," Jess muttered, but it was obvious that it wasn't. He watched as Dean walked forward and kissed her soundly, and then glared at him. There was a moment when wills were tested, before Jess shook his head and went to go clean something.

"Maybe some other time?" Rory asked back at him.

"Wait a minute," Jess said calmly, and ran upstairs. He looked around for a minute, before finding what he was looking for. It was probably the most stupid thing that he could possibly do, but he took down the actual, live teddy bear that he'd always kept hidden away with his junk. He carried it down the stairs and to Rory, who was alone again. "Here."

"A teddy bear?" she asked, looking at it with a very large smile as it passed into her hands. She played with it for a few seconds then looked up at him waiting for an answer.

"It was mine as a kid," he brushed it off, shrugging a bit.

"You have a teddy bear?" she asked again, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"It's nothing," he said again, feeling stupid for even bringing it down.

"But you have a teddy bear!" she pointed out, holding it up for him to see.

"Yeah, and it has a name too," he told her, attempting to keep any further humiliation to a minimum.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, distracted.

"Yeah," he whispered, and leaned on the counter again.

"What's its name?" she asked curiously as she poked a hole where fluff was coming out.

"And spoil the fun of you trying to guess? Never," he taunted, and smirked at her. "Have a good day."

"You too," she, dare he say it, flirted.

-gGg-

Later on that evening, Jess found himself sitting on the bridge, reading a book. He was just getting into it when he heard footsteps to one side of his little hiding place. He frowned for a minute, thinking that they were just going to pass him, but then a teddy bear was dropped into his lap. A look of confusion passed over his face before he looked up and directly into the face of Rory Gilmore.

"I fixed it up a little bit," she pointed it, motioning at a couple places that used to have stuffing pouring out. It also had a jacket on it, which was new.

"Thanks," he muttered, shaking his head and smiling.

"It's a cute bear," she told him, sitting down beside him.

"You can have it," he told her, and tossed it back into her lap.

"Really? But it's your girl-bear," she taunted, and he glared at her playfully.

"Yeah, so it's only appropriate that it goes to the girl, isn't it?" he told her, not thinking about his words before he said them. As they sputtered out of his mouth, he sighed and snapped his book shut. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Jess-," she started, but he'd already gotten up and started down the bridge. "Wait!"

"Goodnight," he shouted back over his shoulder and continued away from her. Seconds later, he felt something smack against the back of his head. He turned around and bent down to pick up a bear, but it wasn't his bear. He frowned at it and turned it around. It was wearing a leather jacket, and on the back it said 'Jess'. Blinking in confusion, he looked up at its thrower, who was walking towards him.

"That's my boy-bear," she informed him as she walked towards him.

"Your boy-bear's name is Jess?" he asked, confused.

"Yup," she said with a nod, and rocked on her feet a little bit.

"Huh," he sighed, amused again, and stepped towards her.

"So… we have a Rory-bear, and a Jess-bear," she pointed out, and lifted up his bear, which had a jacket with the name 'Rory' embroidered onto its back.

"I thought that you were out with Dean today?" he asked her curiously, suspicious of this strange exchanging of bears.

"Yeah… about that… Dean didn't like the Jess-bear," Rory told him, hugging the Rory bear to her chest.

"Does the Jess-bear need to punch him?" he half-suggested.

"Nope," she grumbled at him, and they stood awkwardly for a moment.

"So you're broken up with Dean?" he asked, finally breaking away from the horrid bear-references.

"Yup," she nodded, biting her lip.

"Huh," he responded and gently pulled her towards him. She smiled up at him and their lips met gently, unsure. The kiss was electric, and he found himself wanting to deepen it.

"You're a better kisser than the Jess-bear," she told him afterwards, and then proceeded to blush scarlet.

"So the Jess-bear got a kiss before I did?" he mocked, and glared at the Jess-bear.

"The real one was better," she assured him, and they kissed again, smiling the while.


	9. Passion and Respect

**A/N: I guess that I needed a vicious chapter to even out the sweetness of the last one. This one is kinda... I dunno, weird compared to the other ones, but I guess that the characters change as the season progresses.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

_There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV_

_Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV_

Teach Me Tonight 2x19

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Passion and Respect**

**Dead Uncles and Vegetables, Episode 2x17**

**OOC Chapter**

**Rated T**

"You facilitated it, you made it happen. So I guess that means that you're officially a part of our town now," Rory teased, but he still felt the instant need to defend himself.

"Hey, wait a minute," he remarked, wanting to stop her before she could go on with any stupid town-ritual that they might have for bringing in new people.

"Welcome," she interrupted him.

"I am not a part of this town," he told her firmly.

"See you for some tree planting down at the Arbor Day festival, buddy," she taunted.

"Yeah, or many I could knock over a liquor store while everyone else is planting those stupid trees," he snapped back, hating to even think about being a part of the loony bin that was this town.

"As long as it's a liquor store in town, neighbour," she continued playfully.

He shook his head in frustration and glared at her. She'd been acting really… off all day. Before she could walk too far, he hooked his arm in hers, dropping his plate on the table, and yanked her up past the curtain and upstairs.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"What? You're the only one who can yank arms around here?" he snapped, and half-tossed her into the apartment.

"Luke needed your help!" Rory snarled, and they ended up in a glaring contest.

"If he'd wanted my help, he'd have asked for it," he growled right back.

"He couldn't ask you to help him, you never listen to him," she grumbled, pushing him in the shoulder.

"So you thought that you'd abuse your position as my friend and force me to help?" he asked her and advanced on her. She stood down, stepping back and frowning at him.

"You weren't listening to anyone!" she pointed out in her defense.

"That's because no one actually talks to me," he returned, waving his arms in front of him as though to brush her away. "You know what? Nevermind, I was crazy to even think I could talk to you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, obviously stunned by his words.

"These last few months have been great, I thought that I might have actually found a friend in his hell-hole, and then you pull this shit? You're treating me like we've just met, damn it," he told her, frustrated.

"Well how else am I supposed to treat you?" she pouted, sitting down on the couch.

"I don't know, maybe with respect?" he suggested with a shrug.

"Why, you never treat anyone else with respect," she grumbled.

"I treated you with respect," he snapped.

"But what about Luke, or my mother?" she demanded, standing again.

"I treat them the same way they treat me, and if that means that I don't treat them with respect, then so be it," he yelled at her.

"They tried to be nice to you! You wouldn't let them!" she shrieked, walking forwards so that she was a foot in front of him.

"The hell they did!" he shouted right back, and they stood there for a few seconds, pissed off and blazing. Then they, almost in unison, moved towards each other and kissed. Rory pulled back first, and quickly made her way out the door and down into the diner.

Jess stood, stunned, and sat down on the couch. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell he'd just done.


	10. Time To Reverse

**A/N: I apologised if it's been done before, but this was a hella difficult episode to work with. It's been rewritten enough times to kill a small, or large, animal. Anyway, this is my style.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

_There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV_

_Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV_

_Teach Me Tonight 2x19 - Rory's POV_

Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Time To Reverse**

**Teach Me Tonight, Episode 2x19**

**OOC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

"That's your car?" Jess asked her, and she could almost taste his excitement. It was funny how he seemed to be able to spread his feelings with a single glance.

"Yes it is," she replied back, evenly. He'd been wasting their time al night. She had a feeling that whatever came out of his mouth now would probably just be another waste of time.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. Let's go get some ice cream, and when we get back? I'll study," he told her, sitting down inches from her and leaning towards her dangerously. She pulled away a little bit, not liking her body's reaction to his nearness.

"There's a diner, there's ice cream here," she objected, frowning at him.

"But we don't have any cones," he countered.

"Cones?" she asked in disbelief.

"I need cones," he repeated, very seriously.

"Well, so, if we go get ice cream-," she started.

"In cones," he interjected, drawing out the word 'cones'.

"-then, you'll be a perfect student for the rest of the night," she finished.

"That's right," he confirmed, still looking very serious.

"I could not believe you less," she informed him, smiling at his antics. "I'll drive, you can read Othello. Won't that be fun?"

"You have no idea how much," he droned, and grabbed the book from the table, following her out to the car.

-gGg-

It was a mistake, a stupid mistake that she regretted the instant that she'd made it. They'd gotten the ice cream, and they were about to go back to the diner, when he suggested that they drive around a bit more. That strange part of her, the one that was attracted to him, thought that it would be a good idea, so she turned right. As they were talking, flirting, an animal jumped out into the road, and she'd had to swerve to miss it. Unfortunately, she'd smashed the car into a pole, and was now sitting in the emergency of the hospital, waiting for news on Jess.

Her cell phone was in her hand and she turned it over again and again. She hadn't been injured at all, but he'd been unconscious when she'd come to. Taking a deep breath, she opened up the phone and called her mother's number.

"Hallo?" Lorelai greeted cheerfully.

"Mom?" Rory asked, attempting to keep her voice from breaking.

"Oh Rory, great! Tell me, was it the China Ball, the China Doll or the China Wall that had the really good shrimp balls?" Lorelai inquired.

"I think it was the China Doll," Rory answered lifelessly, glad for the little reprieve from the task ahead of her.

"Okay, these can go," Lorelai muttered, and Rory heard the sounds of paper being rustled. "You'll be so proud of me. I'm organizing the 'Take-Out Drawer'. I'm weeding out all the dogs, and I'm putting happy-face sticker on the dishes that have been huge successes, to make our ordering more efficient. Where are you?"

"I need you to be calm," Rory began, knowing that this was the beginning of the end.

"Calm about what?" Lorelai asked instantly. Rory knew where the suspicion was coming from. Her mother didn't want her anywhere near Jess… and maybe it hadn't been such a bad idea after all. Maybe then he wouldn't be hurt.

"Calm about what I have to tell you," Rory said, her voice breaking a little bit as she curled into the phone.

"What… where are you?" Lorelai demanded again, and Rory felt tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I'm alright," she assured her concerned mother and looked around the hospital's waiting room.

"Well, of course you're alright, why wouldn't you be alright?" her mother insisted, and she felt more tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Because… we got in an accident," Rory finally got out around the tears.

"What? What accident, what do you mean you got in an accident?" her mother half-shouted.

"Jess and I went for ice cream, and we were just driving, and it was dark, and this dog or cat or possum, I don't know, it was small and furry and it ran out into the middle of the road, and I swerved to miss it," Rory blurted out.

"Oh my God, are you okay? Where are you?" Lorelai panicked, and Rory could hear the jingle of car keys.

"I'm in the hospital," Rory sniffled.

"Are you okay?" her mother continued.

"I'm fine, but… Jess isn't," Rory sobbed. "I have to go, a nurse is coming."

"Rory, Rory wait!" her mother shouted, but she closed the phone.

"Are you Rory Gilmore?" the nurse asked her, she looked harassed.

"Yeah," Rory nodded, trying not to be too scared.

"Jess Mariano's friend?" she continued to specify.

"Yes," Rory hissed, and tried not to allow her fear to swallow her.

"Follow me, please," the nurse said, turning on her heel and marching towards the emergency rooms that she'd seen him disappear down.

Rory followed wordlessly. At least if she was being hauled into the room, it was a good sign. It meant that he didn't need surgery or some other thing. Still, she attempted to keep her fear for his well-being pressed down, thinking happy thoughts. Like his smile, and his voice, the Clash lyrics, how he reacted to her car. When they turned into a room, which had about five people in it, including Jess, she couldn't help but smile. He had a decent bruise on his forehead, and his arm was wrapped up in cloth, but he was scowling and glaring at the other people in the room. Life was good.

"Hey," she greeted, attempting to smile past her tears.

"Hey yourself," he returned, but his voice was gravelly.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, moving past the nurse to sit at his table.

"I'm in a hospital bed," he evaded. "But I'm alright now. What about you?"

"I'm fine. I'm so sorry," she told him, grabbing his unhurt hand gently and attempting to hold back more tears.

"It wasn't your fault," he shrugged, but cringed. "Remind me not to do that."

"I called my mom… so she and Luke will probably be here soon," she told him, wiping her tears off her cheeks.

He nodded numbly, and they just stared at each other for a few minutes. His hand was warm in hers, comforting and peaceful. Everything in this moment was perfect. She felt like the puzzle pieces that she'd been attempting to sort out between her, Dean and Jess were finally in place. She knew that this is where she wanted to be.

"I shouldn't have suggested ice cream," Jess grumbled, shocking her out of her staring.

"But it was good," she objected, and he smirked at her a little bit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"The doctor says it's a fractured wrist, maybe a bruised rib or two. I'll be fine," he shrugged off again, and flinched. "You were supposed to remind me not to do that."

"Sorry," she said softly, and they resumed their staring contest. After a few more minutes of this, she rose to her feet and they moved towards each other carefully, avoiding his injuries. Their lips met and Rory felt that she was wrong. The last moment hadn't been anywhere near perfect.

"Come here," he insisted, dragging her up onto the bed and lying down. She curled into him, careful of his injuries, and hid her face in his shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. It was comforting. Even in the stale, misused air of the hospital, he retained his smell. He reminded her of home, comforted her. She felt the adrenaline drain from her system. It was replaced by exhaustion, which she gladly succumbed to, falling asleep on the bed with him.


	11. Never Say Goodbye

**A/N: If I do, in fact, do a Season Three Series of One Shots, it'll be a bit different. I haven't decided whether or not to actually do it, however. If you want it, make sure to tell me. I only want to do it if there's a strong want for it.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

_There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV_

_Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV_

_Teach Me Tonight 2x19 - Rory's POV_

_Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV_

I Can't Get Stared 2x22

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Never Say Goodbye**

**Lorelai's Graduation Day, Episode 2x21**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K**

Rory followed Jess's eyes as she attempted to find a seat on the bus. He followed her, and she felt as though her heartbeat would never calm down. Today hadn't been perfect… not by a long shot. Perfect would have involved her doing what she'd come here to do: bring him home.

As she sat down, she heard a muffled version of his voice through the bus's paneling. In an attempt to hear him better, she shoved open the window and leaned out a bit.

"What?" she asked when it was open, and she'd be able to hear him a bit easier.

"I said 'Why did you come here?'," he informed her.

"Well-," she started.

"I mean, you ditched school and everything. That's so not you, why'd you do it?" he clarified, cutting off whatever ill-though out explanation she might have had.

Her heartbeat quickened again, and her brain was on overdrive to think up a reason. Why had she come out to see him? Was it because she felt bad that everyone blamed him, or because she wanted to make sure he didn't blame himself? Or was it because, like her heart was attempting to convince her, she cared for him; not liking her choices, she said instead, "Because you didn't say goodbye."

He nodded silently and muttered, "Oh," lightly. He'd been expecting something different, but she couldn't say anything. What she really felt wasn't… acceptable, at least, outside of fairytales. The princess wasn't supposed to fall for the brooding warrior. She was supposed to fall for the handsome prince. But, just for this fairytale, couldn't things be different? They shared a look, both of them seeming to think the same thing.

"Goodbye, Rory," he said after their staring contest was finished. Her heart froze, not liking those words.

"'Bye Jess," she managed, and then watched him leave. She watched him until he was out of her sight, and then felt her heart give a painful lurch. She really didn't want him to go.

Stumbling a little bit, she yanked herself from her seat and forced herself to the front of the bus. "How long until you leave?" she demanded of the bus driver, who looked at her with a startled glance.

"There was an accident on the route, so we can't leave until it clears up," he stammered, and she nodded.

With a quick 'Thank you!', she leapt out the bus and took off after Jess. Searching the massive amount of people quickly, she finally found his dark head moving towards the exit. In a mad dash, she pressed through people until she reached him. He was about to leave into the streets, where she probably wouldn't have ever seen him again.

"Jess!" she exclaimed, winded from the run.

"Rory?" he muttered, and turned to face her. The frown on his face bled into a smile once he saw her and he turned around completely. "Aren't you going to miss your bus?"

"Come with me," she blurted.

"What?" he said, jerking back a little bit.

"Come with me," she pleaded again, shrugging a little helplessly.

"Why? Everyone hates me," he shot back, but there was a twinge of something in his eyes. She took that to be a sign, perhaps even a clue to his thoughts. Maybe he'd already been thinking of coming back? Her heartbeat picked up a little bit at the thought.

"No they don't, I don't," she attempted to convince him.

"So… what? I should come back because you don't hate me," he scoffed, shaking his head.

"No… you should come back because I miss you, and because the town needs its hoodlum. I mean, who else is going to find an interesting use for sidewalk chalk, or bug Taylor and Luke, or attempt to force me to read Hemingway?" she rambled, listing off a few different ideas that came to mind.

"You'll manage," he muttered, and turned to leave again.

"No one blames you," she called out when he'd walked a few steps.

"What?" he whispered as he turned around to face her, she could barely hear him in the rush of the city.

"The car accident… no one blames you. Miss Patty and Babette said they'll miss you," she informed him, knowing that the chances of him returning with her were slim, but she had to at least try.

"Don't you have a graduation to go to?" he snapped, but she could see the defense mechanism when it was right in front of her.

"Why do you always do that?" she demanded, following him as he started to walk away again.

"Do what?" he snapped back, not turning to look at her.

"Go all evasive and ignore everything I'm asking," she pointed out, and grabbed his arm. "Just… come with me. Luke wants you back, I want you back… the town needs you."

"Stars Hollow did fine when I wasn't there, and it'll do fine now too," he grumbled, but stopped his retreating.

"Please?' she asked him, finally using her last card.

"Why are you pressing this?" he returned, finally addressing the matter at hand.

"Because… I'll miss you," she shrugged and offered him a small smile.

"How can you miss me if I'm there?" he taunted with a small smirk, it didn't reach his eyes.

"So you'll come back?" she chirped, excited.

"Not now," he sighed, shaking his head.

"Why not?" she pouted, feeling like her hopes were being dashed.

"Because I haven't packed yet," he quipped, and smirked at her again.

"So you'll-," she started, but was abruptly cut off.

"See you later, Rory," he nodded and turned to leave.

Rory was too stunned to speak. Despite her persistence, she'd never actually thought that he'd come back. After getting rammed into by someone, she finally came out of her state and blinked a couple of times. He was coming back. It was a physical effort not to do something potentially embarrassing in the middle of the bus station. Instead, she bit her lip and rushed back to the bus and to her seat, where she almost vibrated with the anticipation of seeing him back in Stars Hollow again… and maybe picking up where they'd left off.


	12. Just Wanted To

**A/N: Trust me when I say that I am not, at least not at the core, a BB shipper. That's just the way this chapter had to work out. It's told differently, from Chris's POV, just to show an outward look into the Literati relationship. This is it, the last chapter... I hope that you enjoyed it, I've enjoyed writing it. Now that it's finished, it means that I can stop procrastinating and actually get to the rest of my stories. Thank you to everyone who read them, I hope that you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.**

**Season Two**

_Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV_

_Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV_

_The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV_

_The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV_

_Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV_

_A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV_

_Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV_

_There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV_

_Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV_

_Teach Me Tonight 2x19 - Rory's POV_

_Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV_

_I Can't Get Stared 2x22 - Chris's POV_

**The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:**

**Never Say Goodbye**

**Lorelai's Graduation Day, Episode 2x21**

**IC Chapter**

**Rated K+**

Christopher begged a 'be right back' to his daughter as he moved away to take his call. Turning away, he walked over to a grove of trees located a few meters away from the bridge. He flipped open his phone and checked the caller ID, it was Sherry. Taking a deep breath, he opened then closed the phone, unable to face her yet. He knew that he would be hearing hell from her for this, but there was nothing that was going to take him away from this wedding, this happy moment between him and Lorelai… they were ready, they were finally ready.

With that happy thought in mind, he turned around to try to find Rory again, to talk to her a bit more. Instead of finding just his daughter, he turned in time to see her and another boy, another 'not Dean' boy, kissing by the stream. At first the thought didn't register, until she pulled away from him and started to run away. He made like he was going to follow, but ended up staying behind, shuffling. Christopher remembered that shuffle well. He'd been there more than once.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the one in question at the moment. A momentary feeling of rage coursed through his blood and he raced down to where the kid was standing. Before his adversary had time to react, he grabbed the lapels on the kid's collar and shoved him towards one of the trees, where he held him.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Who the hell are you?" the kid snapped back, shoving his hands away. Chris didn't allow the pushing. Instead he shoved the boy back into the tree.

"I'm the father of the girl you were just kissing," he roared.

"Chris… Jess?" a voice asked from behind them. It was Lorelai, probably looking for her daughter.

"Jess?" Chris asked the kid, but he received only a cold glare.

"What are you… why are you… how did you get back?" Lorelai demanded from behind them, yanking Chris off Jess and taking his position of authority.

"Jeez, and here I was thinking that this party was for me," Jess scoffed.

"Don't be a smart ass. You caused enough trouble last time you were in town. No one wants you here, why are you here?" she told him, visibly angry and frustrated.

"He was just kissing Rory," Chris offered from behind them, which earned him a horrified glance from Lorelai and an annoyed death-glare from the kid.

"Wait… kissing Rory?" Lorelai repeated, unable to register it. "You jerk! Now you're not just satisfied with breaking her arm, you have to break her heart too?"

"That Jess?" Chris chorused, and went back to slamming the kid against the tree.

"Get off me," Jess growled and shoved him off. Chris lost his balance and ended up in the stream, where he was immediately attacked by a large mass of feathers… with a beak.

"Chris!" he heard Lorelai shout, and soon felt two sets of arms dragging him out of the stream. The feathery mass followed them, pecking at him and squawking angrily.

"Get off!" he heard the kid roar, and was soon relieved of the pain that was the thing's beak.

"That swan is evil," Lorelai hissed, and then knelt down beside him to check his wounds.

"What happened?" Chris asked, completely disorientated.

"Jess pushed you into the stream and the swan came out of no where," Lorelai offered gently, touching his swelling eye. "Speaking of which… you here? Not a good idea." She was looking up at Jess, who was soaking wet from the waist down.

"You're welcome," he shot back at her, shacking his head and storming away.

"Thanks," Chris mumbled unhappily, looking at the boy's retreating back.

Chris watched the moody teenager storm away through quickly-swelling eyes before turning back to Lorelai. "Is he always like that?"

"Pretty much," she sighed, and helped him to his feet.

"Mom?" Rory called from somewhere near the bridge. Seconds after her question, there was a 'crash'.

"Rory?" Lorelai returned, and they rushed over to the bridge to see what was going on.

Rory and Jess were standing awkwardly a few feet away from each other. Jess was holding his head and Rory was rubbing her forehead. The second that they appeared, the swan incident seemed to disappear, replaced instead with the reminder that the two teenagers had been kissing earlier.

"You kissed Jess!" Lorelai accused childishly.

"What?" Rory asked, paling visibly and sending a withering glare in Jess's direction.

"You're right… it is deadly," Jess stated to Rory with a painful nod. Almost like it was a trigger word, a smile broke out on her face. The two teenagers shared a moment as the two adults stared at each other wondering what the hell was going on.

"Uh… hello with the kissing?" Lorelai finally said, breaking the staring contest.

"Aren't you still with Dean?" Chris put in behind her, holding his head delicately.

"Oh my God, dad, what happened to you?" Rory inquired, suddenly noticing the large bruises developing on his face.

"The swan," Lorelai offered with a shrug, and then gave an evil look at the bird, which was swimming happily in the stream below them.

"It is evil," Rory shrugged, and touched his face gently, as though to test whether or not it hurt.

"I'll be fine," Chris brushed off, and then set his eyes on Jess again, who was standing awkwardly to one side.

"Back to the whole 'you kissed Jess' issue," Lorelai intervened again, hoping that, sooner or later, the conversation would be back on track.

"It was nothing," Jess sighed, turning his head upwards in frustration. Chris had been here too.

"It wasn't nothing," Rory objected quickly, and had to answer to the questioning eyes of both parents. Jess shook his head. Chris recognized the look, it was usually the one given when the girlfriend screwed things up.

"So what was it then?" Lorelai pressed, grabbing Rory's hand and the back of Jess's jacket. She led them back the way they'd come, so that the rest of the wedding party wouldn't see them.

"It was nothing," Jess bit out again while attempting to shrug off Lorelai's hands.

"Well, my daughter says it was, so I'm going to believe her," Lorelai told him.

"It was just… a 'welcome home'!" Rory attempted, but the tired looks from the other three people involved made her bite her lip and stay quiet.

"Look, I came home, she was shocked, and she did something stupid. It happens, it won't happen again," Jess stated, it was the longest thing he'd said the entire conversation.

"It won't?" Chris attempted to put in, but it was greatly muffled by his swelling lip. How many times did the damn swan get him?

"Don't talk," Lorelai scolded him lightly, her fingers running over his injuries again before she turned back to the teenagers. "Like Chris said: 'it won't'?"

"No," Jess scoffed, but Chris's eyes were drawn to his daughter, who was looking more and more crushed by the second.

"Rory?" he inquired, seeing the start of tears in her eyes.

"I guess it won't," she mumbled out, wrapping her arms around her waist and turning way from them sullenly.

"Am I missing something?" Lorelai asked, putting at hand to her forehead in frustration.

"No, you're not missing anything. We already told you what happened, now can I go home?" Jess requested with raised eyebrows.

"No, you can't," Rory finally snapped from beside him. There were tears running down her face and her mouth was drawn into a line that could only mean trouble in the Gilmore household. "What about what I want?"

"What are you talking about?" the kid replied, obviously confused.

"What if I want it to happen again?" she suggested, stunning all people involved.

"Uh…" Jess trailed off.

"Dean?" Lorelai squeaked, obviously attempting to distract her daughter.

"I'm… I'm tired of Dean," Rory told her with a sad shrug. "I want… something different."

"Different?" Chris mumbled through his swellings.

"Yeah… different," Rory nodded, and turned to Jess with a hopeful smile.

"I can work with that," he told her with a small nod and a smile. Chris watched in horror as their hands grasped one another's and Rory glanced away, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Perfect," Lorelai hissed and sighed. Giving up on her daughter, she turned back to him. "We need to get you some ice."

"Ice would be good," he attempted, but it sounded more like gibberish, even to him.

Lorelai took his hand in her own, which was squeezing rather tightly, and dragged him away. He was hesitant, he didn't want to leave Rory with the hoodlum, but he couldn't bring himself to tear them away. The look on her face was so happy, content. It was the same look that he'd had with Lorelai so many years ago, before they'd had Rory. Normally that would have startled him, but he knew that Rory wasn't Lorelai. She was smarter, she'd be careful. Content with that, he turned back to Lorelai as they walked, ignoring the faint ringing of his cell phone.


End file.
